The world is experiencing a transformative period of interaction between technology and society. And one of the primary drivers of the technology revolution is Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Our Director, Distinguished Professor Genevieve Bell, and alumna, Mikaela Jade, joined ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop in this high-profile panel discussion on the impacts and frontiers of AI.
A Cabrogal woman of the Darug-speaking nations of Sydney, Mikaela Jade completed her Master of Applied Cybernetics in 2021. She is the founder of the award-winning company, Indigital, which works to develop innovative new ways to digitise and translate knowledge and culture from remote and ancient communities.
So how do we ensure that AI works to the benefit of all humanity?
Professor Genevieve Bell: I think there’s a couple of pieces that you have to be able to be sort of unpacking out of that question. The first piece is how do we ensure that we are generating and training the widest diversity of people to be skilled practitioners in this space so that we are creating lots of different voices who are skilled at using AI. I think there’s a piece about how do we upskill your former colleagues? How do we think about upskilling regulators and public servants and civil servants so that they can be better informed as they make policy?
“And I think there’s also an argument about how do we ensure that we are really thinking carefully about the places where AI is most useful and where it isn’t.” — Prof. Bell
Mikaela Jade: The way I’m thinking about AI to benefit all of humanity is to bring it back to country and bring it back to my people who have 80, 000 years of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in our DNA, and thinking about what would make AI something that is uniquely Australian as well instead of relying on AI systems that are developed overseas.
“So bringing our people along on the journey, allowing us space to dream and think and do in AI, is going to be really important.” — Mikaela Jade.
They were also joined by Prof. Elanor Huntington, the Executive Director of Digital, National Facilities and Collection at CSIRO and former Dean of the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Sciences.
The virtual panel discussion was part of the 2022 ANU Alumni Week. Below is a recording of the one-hour session.